The Road To Basel Episode 6: Inside Max Bernardini's World Of Luxury Vintage

You don't meet people like Max Bernardini often. When I first encountered the purveyor of bespoke vintage luxury items in January of this year, I assumed he was American. He's not, despite his practically flawless English, complete with New York accent. He was educated at an American school in Eastern Europe and speaks a handful of languages. Inside his lair of luxury in downtown Milan, Bernardini sells watches. And great ones. And ostensibly, that's why we were there. But we got more than we bargained for, and in episode six of The Road To Basel, you'll find out just what makes Bernardini Luxury Vintage so special, and we'll guarantee this shop will be at the top of your "must visit" list from today on.

Bernardini is one of the go-to spots in Milan for vintage watches, and you can find anything from simple Datejusts and Universal Geneves to the most complicated stainless steel Patek Philippes in the world.

Inside his back office, which sits directly across the street from the Santa Maria delle Grazie church, most famously known as the home of The Last Supper, Bernardini opens up his four safes to show the hundreds of timepieces he keeps in stock.

His collection will blow you away, and it is one of the most diverse collections of high-end vintage watches I've ever seen in a retail shop. Think $1,000 to $1,000,000. Seriously. He was wearing a rare and incredibly sharp Rolex 6238 "Pre-Daytona" in 18k yellow gold. Under it? A small Patek Philippe Calatrava cross tattoo. This is Max Bernardini.

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Bernardini's selection of vintage watches is why were there, but it's not why we'll go back. You see, he doesn't just sell watches, he sells the entire idea of a luxury lifestyle - but not in the glitzy, Asian mega-mall sense of the term. Everything in his shop is old. And all hand-made. He sells Louis Vuitton trunks from the 20s, when they had only one store, and it was located in Paris. He sells 1930s Hermés attaches, 1950s Goyard briefcases, and 1960s LeCoultre Atmos clocks (in fact he has a FACTORY red Atmos clock that was presented to the Ferrari Formula 1 team that I tried to buy on the spot. He said I wasn't the first, but it wasn't for sale). He sells the products that built the legacies on which today's global enterprises are constructed. The difference between a 1950s Louis Vuitton trunk and an LV trunk of today in terms of build quality is, quite frankly, astounding, even to the untrained eye. What "luxury" was back then and what it is today are vastly different.

But Bernardini doesn't just sell these relics of a bygone era, he updates them for today. Imagine a 1960s Hermes briefcase transformed into a travel case for your entire collection of vintage Daytonas. He's done that. Imagine a 1930s Louis Vuitton trunk turned into a safe for your entire 100 timepieces. That too.

Within the walls of this incredible shop sits a classically trained artisan that transforms these beautiful objects into, well, still beautiful objects that just happen to be slightly more functional. Anything is possible, and while we tend to focus on what he's done for serious watch collectors, he's converted cases into iPod chargers, special cases for cigar rollers, equine lovers, tennis players, golfers, and just about anyone else you can imagine. The best part of it is that the client picks the case and designs the final product him or herself, offering a completely modern and bespoke experience built into a hand-made relic of what can be described as the original modern luxury.

The best part of Bernardini Luxury Vintage is that anything goes. And you may not fully understand what I mean by that until you visit the shop and are lucky enough to meet the man himself. His in-house watch manager, Maurizio, is a Cuban native that Max met in Havana over 15 years ago. When asked about his life in Milan with Max, he expresses nothing but thanks and joy for the opportunity he's been provided and the life he now has because of it.

Max Bernardini is a true force and his store is unlike anything else on earth. It's something that, quite simply, you just have to experience to fully comprehend. This world of "luxury vintage" that he has created is beautiful and occasionally brash, but above all it is truly bespoke. Bernardini Luxury Vintage is a store full of the most useless things you simply can't live without, and next time you're in Milan, you just have to go to see it for yourself.

Editor's Note: I challenge each and every one of you to visit Bernardini Luxury Vintage, drink two of the best Negronis of your entire life, and leave without buying something. I genuinely don't think it's possible.